


Green Smoke and Peaceful Places

by LucindaAM



Series: Beauty and her Beast [9]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst with an Ambiguous Ending, F/M, No Smut, Swearing, angst. heavy angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26731579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: Hulk and Banner both learn that you've been taken.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Reader, Hulk/Reader, The Avengers & Reader
Series: Beauty and her Beast [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925902
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	Green Smoke and Peaceful Places

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Thepracticalheartmom for pre-reading this for me. I was a little nervous about this one!
> 
> Other than that just . . . the fluff you loved about the last one? Yeah. Just . . . just hold onto that.
> 
> Here we go.

Your eyes fluttered open and you glanced around the room blearily. You didn’t remember falling asleep in a chair last night. Then again, Stanley had just started teething and you weren't getting a lot of sleep . . . 

You went to move a hand to rub at your aching head but gasped as a sharp pain shot through your arm. You glanced down and blinked, trying to reconcile what you were seeing with what your brain last remembered. 

You may not have remembered falling asleep in a chair last night, but you sure as HELL didn’t remember stabbing yourself in the arm last night. You blinked hard and shook your head to clear it before you opened your eyes. No . . . it was still there. Plain as day. A knife driven straight through your arm, pining it to the arm of the chair you were sitting in. Blood was still dripping steadily onto the floor in a rhythmic pattern that seemed to echo around the otherwise empty space. 

This couldn’t be real. 

A matching ache caught your attention and you slowly moved to glance at your other arm. Sure enough, a matching dagger had been driven through that one as well. You chuckled hysterically. A matching set. You could gift them to Bucky for Christmas. He’d love them. 

You were almost too afraid to look down at your legs. Would you find knives there too? You almost hoped so. You couldn’t give Bucky a set of knives without giving Natasha a set! You laughed again. Two peas in a pod deserved a four pairs of murder knives. Tears streamed down your face and you couldn’t for the life of you figure out why that thought was so funny. 

A door swung open and your laugh abruptly cut off as a man dressed in black stepped into the room. A ski mask covered his face, and you were once again filled with the strangest sense that you had to be on some kind of prank show. None of this could be real. 

The man walked towards you with something in his hands. He stopped just out of your reach and gestured at the daggers sticking out of your body. “You don’t want to move those. You move too much, you die.” 

If this hadn’t been some elaborately engineered prank, you would have believed him. You’d learned an awful lot about the human body over the course of the last year. It didn’t take a genius to see just how close to a few important arteries the knife had been jammed. You nodded seriously anyway. 

The man didn’t say anything else as he held out the object in his hand. It was a sandwich. 

You stared at it in confusion for a second before he sighed in frustration and jammed it closer to your mouth. “You eat.” He commanded. 

You took a bite. 

The man slowly fed you the rest of the sandwich in silence. The more you ate, the more the pain seemed to start to register in your mind and the more your head cleared. 

You hadn’t fallen asleep in the Avengers Tower. You’d taken Stanley out for a day at the park. You’d taken . . . Stanley. 

The man pushed to his feet and headed out of the door. 

“Wait!” You called, panic ringing loudly in your voice. “My baby! What did you do with my baby?!” 

The man stood frozen, his back to you for a long minute before he shook his head. “You have bigger things to worry about, now.” He said. 

Then he left the room, slamming the door loudly behind him. Tears clouded your vision as a blind panic took hold of you. They had your baby. They had your baby. They had your baby. 

You glanced around wildly, looking for something to help you. You saw nothing. You glanced down and saw they’d taken your jacket when they’d locked you in here. You didn’t have your phone or your tracker. The Avengers had no way of finding you. 

And they had your baby. 

You glanced down at your arms, still pinned the armrests of your chair. The pain was finally starting to register with your brain. Nausea rolled through your stomach, but you pushed it aside as best as you were able. You needed to get out of this room and you needed to get out of it NOW. 

You glanced at the armrests and then threw your head back to look at the ceiling as tears streamed down your face. You couldn’t take the knives out, not without at least one arm already free and even if you could, you’d probably bleed to death before you could find Stanley. You were going to have to find a way to free yourself without removing the blades which meant that there was only one option. 

You gripped the tips of the armrests and pulled them upward, trying to dislodge the wooden armrest from the arm stumps. You bit your lip so tightly, you felt blood pool in your mouth as you tried to stifle your screams of pain. Still, wails of agony echoed around the room as you desperately tried to free your arms. 

Hours or maybe it was just minutes later you cried out in relief as the armrests started to give way in your grip. Sobs wracked your body as you pulled the pieces of wood away from the rest of the chair and cradled your arms awkwardly towards your body. You gave yourself a minute to recover before you risked glancing down at your legs. Mercifully, your captors had left your legs untouched and you wept again as you pushed shakily to your feet. 

The boards pinned to the underside of your arms and the wave of agony that ripped through you nearly drove you to your knees. You hunched in on yourself and reached your left arm over and gripped the board under your right arm as best as you were able with fingers that seemed to have lost the ability to function. You pulled at the board weakly and grit your teeth again as you pulled the board away and subsequently pulled the knife further into your arm. The bloody board clattered to the ground loudly before you reached over with your right arm and did the same thing. 

You stumbled towards the door leaving a trail of dripping blood behind you as you went. You didn’t have a plan and you knew you had almost no hope of surviving whatever was on the other side of the door but you’d be DAMNED if you let them hurt your son without a fight. 

Bruce smiled at Tony and shook his head. “Stanley doesn’t need a working replica of your car Tony. He’s barely a month old.” 

Tony shook his head. “It’s never too early to teach him about the joys of mechanic’s, Bruce. Come on. Let me live a little.” 

Bruce chuckled as he headed towards the elevator. “How about I run it past his mother first. If she says yes, you can have at it.” 

“That’s not fair! You KNOW she already turned down the idea!” Tony called as the doors slid shut. 

Bruce smiled to himself as he rode the elevator up to your floor of the apartment. The two of you had settled into a comfortable routine with baby Stanley in the month since he’d been born. Bruce always made sure to be upstairs by dinner time. The two of you would cook together while taking turns telling Stanley stories while he sucked his thumb in his bouncer on the countertop. Every now and again one of you wouldn’t be able to help yourself and you’d sneak a quick kiss on Stanley’s forehead before you went back to work, cooking dinner. 

After dinner, you’d feed Stanley and then Bruce would burp him before Hulk would insist on coming out long enough to tuck the baby into bed. 

Bruce couldn’t remember the last time he and the Big Guy had been on the same page before but you and Stanley had changed that. For the first time in years, Bruce wasn’t afraid to walk down the street or afraid to be in rooms with strangers. If you and Stanley could love Hulk, there must have been something good in him. 

Bruce smiled at the thought as the doors slid open. Maybe it was time to start taking a more active role on the team. 

Bruce stepped into the apartment and opened his mouth to ask you what you thought but froze. The lights in the apartment had automatically turned on as he stepped onto the floor, but you weren’t there. 

“Y/N?” He called out. “Sweetheart?” 

There was no answer. In the back of Bruce’s mind, he felt something wake as he started walking through the apartment, glancing in the rooms. A deep sense of dread filled his stomach. You were always here. Always. You and dinner. It was a sacred ritual for you and you never missed it. 

“JARVIS? Where’s Y/N?” He asked. 

“Mrs. Bean took Baby Bean out for the day. That was several hours ago. I have not heard from her since.” 

Bruce shook his head desperately and pulled out his phone to dial yours. “No. No, something’s not right. She’s always home by now.” 

He held up his phone to his ear, already racing for the elevators. Your phone went right to voicemail. 

Bruce slammed a fist against the elevator panel and tried again. Nothing. Panic filled him to the brim. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. 

A roar shook the tower and Tony glanced up at the ceiling with furrowed brows. The elevator thud as it came to a stop on the R&D floors and Tony swallowed hard. “Suit, J. Now!” He ordered. 

A suit flew into the room and was just engulfing Tony entirely when the elevator doors exploded outward, crashing into the lab. 

1,400 pounds of Raging Green Hulk came stepping out. He held Banner’s phone in a fist. “Hulk. Smash.” He said darkly, crushing the phone in his fist. 

Tony raised a gauntlet and pointed it at Hulk’s rage filled form. 

“Uh, J? Let’s get The Pacifier down here, huh?” 

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, sir.” JARVIS responded. 

“What the hell do you mean, it’s not possible?!” Tony demanded angrily, taking a step back as Hulk took a determined step forward. 

“Mrs. Bean left several hours ago and has not been heard of or seen since. I’m afraid she’s missing.” 

Tony glanced with new understanding at Hulk’s tensed form. “Shit.” He cursed. “Tell me you’ve got a trace on her.” 

“I’m locking in now, sir.” 

Tony held up his hands in surrender and his face mask slid up. “We’re going to find her, okay, Big Guy? JARVIS is looking right now. Whoever took her, I promise, you can smash them all you want. Just don’t smash the lab, okay? Is that a deal? We need the lab to find her.” 

Hulk’s fists curled tightly against his sides and a snarl rippled across his face but he nodded. “We find them.” He ordered. 

Tony closed his eyes and cursed again. “Baby Bean?” He asked softly. 

“Mrs. Bean took him with her when she left.” JARVIS said softly. 

A wave of terror shot through Tony’s heart as worst case scenarios filled his mind with his godson in a staring roll. 

“We’ll find them. Both of them. And then you’ll smash everyone who ever thought about hurting them.” Tony said, glancing up at Hulk. 

Hulk nodded firmly. 

“Let’s get to work.” 

You startled awake and found yourself slumped against a wall. You shook your head and pushed to your feet again. You clung to the wall and tried to keep from fainting again. 

“Gotta stay awake.” You murmured. “Gotta save m’baby.” The dull ache of pain was starting to fade and in the back of your mind you knew that was a bad sign. Your shivering had gotten worse too, but you ignored it as you painted the walls red with blood and stumbled down the hallway. 

“Gonna save you Stanley. Mommy’s coming. Just hold on for me, baby. You’re going to be okay.” 

With every step your vision swam and your stomach rolled, but you refused to stop. 

You reached the end of the hallway and reached for the door. It took three tries to get it open, your hands were shaking so badly. Finally, the door swung open and you collapsed to your knees in front of it. 

Bodies lay scattered haphazardly in the middle of the room. A tiny bundle of fabric lay in the middle. Quiet cries could be heard from inside. You ignored the bodies as you crawled towards the bundle with single-minded focus. Tears fell down your face as your eyes met your son’s. He was safe. He was okay. 

“My baby.” You cried softly as you picked him up. You fell against the floor, too tired to even lie down properly and laid your baby on your chest, keeping the sharp ends of the knives still sticking out of the undersides of your arms away from his tiny form. Stanley rolled onto his stomach on your chest and you let out a whimper as he smiled at you. Your arms fell to your sides and your tried to smile back. 

You watched in hazy fascination as Stanley reached a tiny hand up to pat your cheek. A foreign sense of peace flooded your body as something in the distance roared. The building shook underneath you but you ignored it as something warm and green drew you to another place entirely. 

Your last conscious thought was to wonder why Stanley’s eyes had been glowing. 

It had taken JARVIS minutes to pinpoint the faint tracking signal you’d hidden in the lining of your jacket. The entire team had been assembled and had arrived at the abandoned office building on the edge of the city only minutes after that. 

Hulk had been the first one off the jet. He’d crashed through the front doors, throwing bodies through walls and windows as he fulfilled his promise to smash everyone who had done this to you. 

The rest of the team followed behind him, making sure the bad guys were either dead or incapacitated, all while looking for clues about where you were and why they wanted you and baby Stanley. 

“I got something.” Nat said over comms. “Looks like HYDRA thinks baby Stanley might be the key to perfecting the super soldier formula.” 

“That’s ridiculous.” Tony argued. “He’s barely a month old. For all we know he’s just another Green Rage Monster just like daddy.” 

Steve cut through the chatter. “I’ve got blood.” He said. 

The entire team froze and waited on bated breath for whatever came next. Before Steve could explain further, a ROAR shook the building. 

“Shit! Hulk’s seen it! I need backup!” Steve called. 

Tony shot through the building, tracking Steve’s comms as Hulk tore through walls looking for you. 

Hulk stumbled to a stop in an open doorway just as Steve and Tony were catching up. “No.” The beast murmured. 

He shouldered into the room, raining drywall and support beams on the scattered bodies already inside. 

“Shit.” Tony cursed, peaking over Hulk’s shoulder. “Cap’, get Dr. Cho on the line. It’s bad.” 

Steve nodded and immediately started calling orders over the comms as Tony flew past Hulk and landed in the room. You were lying all too still in the middle of the room. Stanley was lying on your chest, babbling softly. As Tony landed, he rolled over onto his stomach and smiled at Hulk, reaching for him. 

Hulk gingerly bent down and cradled Stanley in his hands but his eyes were focused on your body. You didn’t move. 

Tony knelt beside you. “JARVIS? I need vitals.” Tony’s face mask opened up and he leaned down to look at the knives in your arms more closely. 

“Heart rate is low. Temperature is cool. I’m afraid she’s lost a lot of blood. The knives appear to have nicked arteries.” 

Tony swooped in and cradled you in his arms. He moved to fly away but Hulk grabbed at him. Tony shook his head. “I gotta get her to Dr. Cho, Hulk. You take care of Baby Bean. I’ll take care of Mama Bean.” 

Tony watched the war that Hulk seemed to have with himself before something in the beast’s eyes changed and he nodded. “Save her.” He ordered. There was an undercurrent of vulnerability there that Tony wasn’t used to hearing. He wondered vaguely if he was talking to Hulk or Bruce in that moment, but it didn’t matter. 

He nodded seriously and took off into the night, your limp body cradled tightly in his arms. 

You sat bolt right up in bed. “Stanley!” You called desperately. “They have Stanley!” Your arms and legs flailed but something tangled around your limbs, keeping you trapped. 

“Hey! Hey! Easy! Easy! You’re okay. It’s okay. Stanley’s here. He’s over there. He’s sleeping.” 

You collapsed against the bed, tears forming in your eyes. “Bruce?” You asked softly. 

Bruce’s familiar brown eyes appeared over your head and he kissed you softly. “I’m here, sweetheart. You’re okay.” He said. 

“Stanley?” You begged. 

Bruce seemed to know what you needed. He disappeared for a minute before he returned, holding your baby protectively against his chest. You held out your arms and Bruce handed him to you carefully. You rang careful fingers across his face and down his chest. You checked his arms and legs carefully. “He’s okay.” You said softly, leaning down to kiss his forehead. 

Bruce sat on the edge of your bed and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. He pressed a firm kiss to your temple. “Yeah. He is.” He said softly. “You will be too.” He added after a moment. 

You glanced at your arms in surprise, suddenly remembering the hell you’d just been through. The skin looked slightly pink in the dim lighting. You curled your fingers and felt a twinge of pain shoot through your arm, but otherwise you could hardly tell the horror you’d just been through. 

“Dr. Cho?” You asked, not really needing an answer. 

Bruce nodded against your head and for a minute the two of you sat in silence, just watching your sleeping baby. Then you felt something wet dampen your hair and you looked up. 

Tears were streaming down Bruce’s face. 

You gently laid Stanley down on your legs before you turned to Bruce. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” You murmured softly, reaching up to cup his face. You brushed his tears away with your thumbs. He shook his head. 

“You almost died.” He murmured. “Again.” 

You tried to smile. “But I didn’t.” 

“But you could have.” 

“But. I. Didn’t.” You said more firmly. “You and Hulk came for me. The whole team came for me. You saved me, baby.” 

Bruce grabbed your wrist and pressed a firm kiss to the inside of it. “I can’t go through what I went through today again. I can’t.” He said. 

You nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “Me neither.” You admitted. “I thought . . . for a minute there I thought I was never going to see you or Stanley again and . . . There’s so much I want the three of us to do together.” 

Bruce nodded and nudged you aside gently so he could climb into bed beside you. You reached down and brough Stanley back up to your chest. Bruce reached and arm down so each of you was cradling your baby. “I know what you mean, sweetheart. And we will. Together. Just . . . for now let’s do things together inside the tower.” 

You chuckled and leaned your head against his. “I think I’ve had my fill of the outside world for a little while.” You agreed. 

He kissed the top of your head and gently took Stanley from you. “Sleep. You deserve it.” 

You hummed but let sleep claim you anyway. 

That night you dreamed of green smoke and peaceful places.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: I actually googled "armchair anatomy" in research for this fic and can say with certainty that arm stumps are very real.
> 
> I also googled a whole heck of a lot of human arm anatomy so . . . I feel like a REALLY terrible person now. 
> 
> That ending though . . . huh?
> 
> Lemme know what you thought!


End file.
